The present invention relates to knitting machines. More particularly, it relates to an automatic replacing apparatus for a knitting machine wherein a yarn released from a yarn engaging element is automatically placed into reengagement with the yarn engaging element.
Knitting machines are known in the art in which yarn engaging elements, e.g., so called stoppers are provided and yarn is fed to knitting needles through the stoppers or tripmechanism whereby when the yarn is placed under abnormal tension, the yarn is released from the stoppers and the knitting machine is stopped to prevent the occurrence of a "tight" or fault in the knitted fabric caused by the breaking of the yarn due to the abnormal tension applied to the yarn. The conventional stopper device of the above type is designed so that when abnormal tension is applied to yarn, the yarn is released from the stopper and simultaneously the knitting machine is stopped. Therefore, after checking the cause of the abnormality, the operator brings the yarn into reengagement with the stopper by a yarn replacing stick and then presses a button to bring the knitting machine into operation again. On the other hand, an analysis of the causes of the stoppage of the knitting machines by the conventional stoppers of the above described type showed that a majority of these stoppage were caused by the occurrence of abnormal tension due to tangling of filaments, napping, disorder in the traverse, knotting or the like, and the abnormal tension due to these causes were such that they did not usually result in the breaking of the yarn. Therefore, these causes were of the type that while the stopper would be brought into operation by a momentary abnormal tension, this abnormal tension would automatically disappear as the yarn was moved further, and the cases where it was necessary for the operator to effect adjustments or to change the yarn feed package accounted for few numbers of the total numbers of the stoppages of knitting machine.
Therefore, there has existed the need for an automatic replacing apparatus for a knitting machine of the above type, whereby when the knitting machine is stopped due to the occurrence of abnormal tension and when this abnormal tension spontaneously ceases to exist without interference by the operator, the yarn disengaged from the stopper is automatically placed into reengagement with the stopper.